Tighter airport security slowing travelers less...

DENVER, Aug. 10 — For millions of passengers, airline employees and security workers, Thursday was a day of getting through, getting by and hoping for the best.

Long security lines, missed flights, delayed departures, harried workers and annoyed, sweaty people of every stripe were common in airports across the country as tightened security rules rattled the nation’s air system amid new details of a reported terror plot to bring down planes between England and the United States.

But for many travelers there was an additional disturbing wrinkle to it all. The most mundane, comforting items — eye drops, bottled water, lip gloss, even books, on some international flights — had joined the list of items banned from carry-on baggage.